Grammy Red Carpet 2010: Hits and Misses

The Grammy Red Carpet is probably one of the most trying things to try to dress for. Sure, everyone wants to look good, but with an edge. Straight up “Old Hollywood” glamour is a little out of place here, but it’s also easy for stars to get carried away and end up looking ridiculous. There’s a fine line between an “outfit” and a “get-up”, and at the Grammys you can expect a lot of stars to cross that line. Time for some armchair stylist action.

I adore Beyonce, and I wouldn’t begrudge her any award she’s ever gotten. I thought she handled that whole MTV Music Awards thing with Kanye West with great grace and class. And since I’m starting out by saying these things, you can probably guess that I wasn’t crazy about her dress at the Grammy awards. It looked as if it were made out of pull tabs from soda cans. I think that sparkle and glitz are great – in fact, they’re perfect for the Grammy’s, but she looked as if she could’ve been Isaac Hayes date when he won the Grammy for “Shaft” in 1972.

From the hips up, I thought Pink’s dress on the red carpet was awesome. She’s really a beautiful girl, even if she doesn’t fit the sweet sugar-princess stereotype. But I just can’t make myself like those fishtail hems. With the ombre effect, where the closer to the hem you got, the darker the dress got, I couldn’t help but think of it being dragged through mud or silt or something. Someone should have grabbed a pair of scissors, lopped the dress off just above the knee, and then run like hell because she would probably come after them to mete out some instant justice. The dress would have looked 100% better, though.

Taylor Swift also went the edgy black dress route and got it just right. She has the slender figure that demands a certain level of sophistication to avoid looking like a teenager playing dress-up, and her KaufmanFranco jersey halter dress was perfect for her.

It almost pains me to say this, but Miley Cyrus was also a hit in a black dress by Max Azria. It is a similar pain to that I get when I see her line of clothing she collaborated with Max Azria on in Walmart. It upsets me that I like some of the designs enough to want some of them, even though they’re for teens. Ah, well. Miley looked lovely, and that’s the bottom line.

To me, the Grammy Red Carpet winner was Katy Perry. In a sugar-pink Jenny Packham dress, she channeled just enough old-school Hollywood, while showcasing her curvy figure with just the right amount of rock-and-roll suggestiveness. The sparkly earrings and bracelet punctuated the look perfectly. It gives me hope that she’ll pick a great wedding dress when she and Russell Brand say their vows later this year.